Mistaken Identity
by uncopywritable
Summary: The Master is mistaken for Sam Tyler, so naturally The Master tries to use it to his full advantage. T because of a swear word here and there, but really tame. Needs a new title, but can't be helped. Mild slash.
1. Chapter 1

I thought I'd put this up. I could probably put more into it, develop the plot, and stuff, but I can't really be bothered. For the premises of this fic, The Master and The Doctor are travelling together, although the Master is reluctant and keeps running away. Oh, and The Master isn't Sam.

There are no real spoilers, I suppose, so long as you've seen the shows.

It's T because there's a bit of swearing later on, but it's pretty tame.

* * *

The Master ran through the streets, glancing over his shoulder to see if the Doctor was catching up. Judging by the cars it was the early seveties, and the road signs told him he was in Manchester. After a while he slowed down to catch his breath. He looked around. He was outside a pub. He seemed to have lost The Doctor.

"Tyler!" An hand landed on his shoulder, and The Master jerked out the loose grip and turned to see who it was.

"What do you think you're doing?" It was a well built man in his forties, wearing a camel coat. There were two other men behind him, a weedy looking one with his hands in his pockets and another one with a stupid moustache, smoking a cigarette and leaning against a wall.

"Excuse me?" The Master said, his mouth curling into a sneer.

"You said you were doing the paperwork on that football murder. Thought you'd finish and join us?" The weedy one asked.

Suddenly the Doctor appeared around the corner, out of breath. "Found you!". The Master ran, but The Doctor grabbed his arm and shoved him up against the wall. "You aren't getting away again." He muttered.

Then the strange man grabbed the Doctor and threw him to the ground. "Why the hell are attacking my DI?" The Master confused, watched the man hauled the Doctor up, only to punch him in the stomach so he fell to the ground again.

"Who is he Boss?" The one with cigarette asked.

"DI?" The Doctor spluttered, clutching at his stomach.

"What, didn't know who you were chasing? Well bad luck for you mate, 'cause you're nicked for assaulting a police officer." The man pulled out a pair of handcuffs, and cuffed the Doctor's hands behind his back. The Master grinned. He couldn't believe his luck.

"You don't understand, he's not your DI, he's-" The Master cut him off.

"Who do you think I am?" The Doctor gave him a dirty look, but stopped talking. He couldn't say his name was The Master. Human's don't work like that.

"What happened to your accent boss?" The weedy one asked.

"Acc-, well, got a bad cold, frog in the throat and all that, you know." The Master coughed, to illustrate his point.

"And what are you wearing?." The smoker said, disgust on his face. The Master looked down. He was still in a suit, but it was severly crinkled, and there were scorched parts here and there. He'd lost the jacket ages ago. He never understood how the Doctor managed to look immaculate all the time.

Moustache looked him up and Master shrugged.

"I've had a bad day." He said. Moustache didn't look convinced, but let it drop. The two got into the back of a car on the other side of the street with the Doctor, and the older one, presumably the superior officer, because they were clearly police, drove. The Master sat in front.

"Who is this bastard anyway, Sam?" The superior asked.

"I don't know." The Master lied. "I was just walking down the street, and he came out of nowhere."

"Why didn't you give him a kicking then?" the one with the cigarette asked.

The Master shrugged. "I was shocked, I suppose."

"Shocked?" The first one shook his head. "How long have you been here Dorothy, eight months? And you still get shocked when scum try to beat up coppers? I thought you were supposed to be smart." The Master didn't answer.

Apparently they thought he was a police man too, this 'Sam Tyler'. He would have to find the real Sam Tyler and get him out of the picture, at least until he was able to escape. For now though, this was the perfect disguise. He drummed on the side of the window, deep in his own thoughts, until they arrived at what The Master assumed was the police station.

They made their way inside. The others left The Master to book The Doctor, saying they would see him down the pub later, and went back out.

* * *

"Name?" the woman at the desk asked, not bothering to look up.

"John Smith." The Doctor said, glaring at The Master, who snorted. The woman paused, before rolling her eyes and writing it down.

"Cleaner then most fake names I get. Date of Birth?"

For a moment The Doctor stopped glaring, and tried to work out the mental arithmatics of giving a reasonable date of birth.

"What year is it?" He asked, at which the woman looked up and gave The Master a long suffering look.

"I don't like idiots playing silly buggers, now answer the question." The Master glanced at some of the paperwork on her desk, looking for the date.

"It's 1973." He told the Doctor. The woman looked up sharply.

"What's wrong with your voice?" She asked staring at him suspiciously.

The Master coughed, and faked a Mancunian accent. "Sorry, bit of a cold, sore throat." The woman nodded slightly, then turned back to the Doctor.

"Well, have you figured out your birthday yet?" The Doctor nodded.

"12th of March, 1945." The woman looked at him, trying to see if it fit.

"I'd have thought older." she said.

The Doctor shrugged. The woman paused, then wrote it down.

"Place of Residence?"

"Oh, I'm... homeless." The Master's smile froze for a second, then he shook himself mentally, and focused on the women.

"Is that it?" He asked, remembering the accent.

"Yep, put him in cell 2." she said, jerking her head behind her.

The Master grabbed the Doctor's arm, and headed in the direction the woman had indicated. After a bit of hit and miss, he found the right cell and entered it.

"This is a bit of luck huh?" The Master said, sitting opposite the Doctor.

"Don't kill the real Sam." The Master faked a look of surprise.

"Why do you automatically assume I'm going to kill him? I want to see how much he looks like me. Then I'll kill him." He laughed, while the Doctor stared at him impassively.

"Oh that was good, that bit with the birthday by the way. 12/3/45. Very clever." The Doctor tried to hide a smile, which made The Master smirk. Then the Doctor looked serious again.

"They won't lock me up forever, and you won't be able to get into the TARDIS without me. What was the plan anyway? Run round Manchester, hypnotize the population, hold it to ransom?"

"No, but good idea, I'll be sure to use it in the future."

"Then what?" The Master stood up, on his way out.

"Honestly? I didn't have one. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to look for Sam Tyler. And don't look at me like that. Tell you what, just for you, I promise I won't kill him for... Let's give it a day, huh? That's reasonable." He grinned and opened the door, but stopped before he actually went through it.

"Oh, I almost forgot." With one quick movement he punched the Doctor in the face. He fell back along the bench, and The Master took the cuffs off, pocketed the sonic screwdriver and walked out.


	2. Chapter 2

He found Sam Tyler in what passed for a filing room in this place, poring over some reports. He snuck in, then, when he was behind him, whispered in his ear. "Hello Sam Tyler." Sam froze, file in his hand. "Who are you?" He asked, his voice wavering. The Master smiled. Apparently, Sam was easier to scare than he would have thought.

"So that's the accent is it?" The Master said, enjoying this immensly, then he said in Sam's own voice said, "Who do I sound like Sammy boy?"

He saw Sam shiver, then he said, quickly. "Well, you sure as hell aren't the Test Card Girl." The Master frowned, puzzled.

"What do you mean?" He asked still using Sam's voice. Suddenly, Sam spun round, gun in hand, pointing it at The Master's head.

"Oh, you're quick. But you're not going to shoot me, are you Sam?" He said, keeping eye contact with him and putting a hypnotic tone into his voice. It worked better than The Master hoped. Seeing what looked like himself must have been a hell of a shock. He lowered the gun immediately, almost in The Master's thrall already.

The Master was still frowning. He took the gun from him. "Tell me about yourself Sam." He ordered. Something was wrong here.

"My name is Sam Tyler. I was in a car crash in 2006, and woke up in 1973..." Sam told him everything, about Gene Hunt, Chris, Ray, Annie and, most interestingly, about the voices.

"So you think you're in a coma." The Master said, trying to deal with this revelation. There were many explanations, one of which was simple insanity. But The Master wasn't inclined to think that. It would be like admitting to himself that he was mad. Which is ridiculous, because the human only looked like him, nothing more. But still...

"I'm not mad." There was a glint in Sam's eye, of hardened certainty. Not a normal trait in the hypnotised. The Master snapped his fingers, and grinned when Sam didn't react.

"The hypnosis has worn off. But you haven't run off, or tried to grab the gun. Now that is surprising." Sam watched The Master as he circled him, examining him as if he was an interesting test subject.

"I want answers. You look like the sort to ask."

"Me? Sorry to disappoint you Sam, but I have no idea what happened to you. All I can tell you is you're definetly not in a coma. My..." The Master paused, then said, "Colleague and I came here by accident. It's a bit of a game we have. Cops and robbers, you might say. Currrently I'm winning. I don't suppose, to use the police term, you'll 'come quietly', will you?" The Master smirked, as Sam tensed up even more.

"Are you going to kill me?" Sam asked, never losing eye contact with him. The Master laughed.

"Do you know, I actually _like_ you Sam Tyler. I don't often like humans. Most of the time I can barely stand them. No Sam, I have no intention of killing you. Yet. I told the Doctor I'd let you live for a day. I have every intention of fulfilling my promise. Now." The Master the stepped forward, focusing on Sam. "I am The Master, and you will obey me..."

* * *

He made sure to keep out of sight of everyone. He nicked a police car to get him where he wanted to go. He took Sam to his bedsit, and handcuffed him to a radiator, making sure he wasn't immediatly noticeable from the door. It wasn't a great place, but The Master didn't know anywhere else. The Master took off his St Christopher's medal and put it round his own neck, and pulled the cord out of the the phone in case the hypnosis wore off again. He made sure Sam was secure, then went to his wardrobe and changed into some of Sam's clothes. Unsurpisingly they fit. He looked into the cracked mirror in the bathroom. He was the duplicate of Sam Tyler. He grinned at himself, then went back to the station.

He made his way down to the cells, deciding to have another chat with the Doctor. When he got there though there were people all over the place and the guy with the camel coat, Gene Hunt, was yelling at the woman on the front desk.

"What's going on?" He asked, remembering to use Sam's accent.

"Your collar broke out." said a voice behind him. It was a female officer, with curly brown hair and rosie cheeks. She smiled at him when he turned round.

"Annie." He guessed. It was easy to tell really. Her entire body language said she was attracted to him.

"What, forgotten my name, have you?" She teased.

"No, of course not. What do you mean, 'my collar'?"

"That John Smith that attacked you. Phyliss went to check on him and he wasn't there." The Master felt his smile fall. The Doctor on the lose is not good.

"Tyler!" The Master looked up to see Hunt striding towards him.

"Yes... guv." He said, cringing at the title.

"Who was the little sod, and don't give me that shit about you not knowing him."

The Master grinned despite himself. There was something hilarious about this big tough human, a copper's copper, thinking that he of all people was a DI.

"Wipe that smirk off your face. You know what that bloke's done? He's stolen all the guns from the locker! There is an armed bastard on my streets and you are going to help me get him before he blows off people heads!" The Master stopped smirking.

"The Doctor stole your guns? Are you sure we're talking about the same person?"

Gene raised an eyebrow "The Doctor? Sounds like a dealer. Now there's something. Why did you lie, Tyler?" The Master was aware of other officers watching, and Annie had a confused look on her face.

"Alright, I admit it. I know The Doctor. I was investigating him back in..." Where was it again? "Hyde. He's insane. He gets involved in a lot of dangerous stuff. You know all that talk of weird things going on down south? You've heard of people seeing dinosaurs and robots? That's The Doctor's handiwork. He drugs water supplys so people see things. I got him, had him imprisoned, but he managed to get out of that as well. And now he's followed me here. He attacked me earlier on. I didn't tell you Gene because, well, frankly, would you have believed me?" He looked around the room. It was a bit of a long shot, and he was praying he wasn't too early and they had actually heard of the dinosaurs and stuff. He could never remember when exactly all that stuff happened.

"What's his real name?" asked Chris. The Master shrugged.

"I can't find any records. As far back as you care to go, he's been The Doctor."

Gene put his hands in his pockets. "And now he's got hold of our firearms. What I want to know is how the hell he got out."

"He's an escape artist."

"What? Is there anything else you want to tell us? Has he kidnapped the queen? Has he replaced all the money in Bristol with counterfeit dosh? Maybe he killed JF bloody K!" Gene slammed the desk with his fist. A lot of people jumped.

"He won't use the guns. He hates guns. He probably took them so I wouldn't have them." It was lucky he had the one Sam tried to use, The Master thought.

"Are you sure about that?" Ray asked, staring at the Master.

"100%. 150%."

"I say, a nutter's a nutter, and if you give a nutter a gun sooner or later someone's gonna die. Why are you all standing around! Let's find the bastard!" Gene barked at everyone, who suddenly became a rush of activity, pointedly ignoring the way Gene grabbed The Master and took him to CID. It took everything The Master had not to break his arm.

When they reached his office he slammed the door and glared at The Master. "What's the story with you and this Doctor?" The Master leaned against Gene's desk.

"Why do you think there's a story?" He asked, his hearts beating faster despite himself. Maybe the copper was smarter than he looked.

"You're acting diferently. The accent, that get-up you were wearing, all that grinning you've been doing, and that bloody tapping!" The Master looked down at his hand, almost in surprise. He was tapping out the drums in his head almost subconsciously.

"Sorry guv." He said.

Gen leaned forward, scrutinising The Master. "What's the story?" For a moment The Master considered telling the truth. Maybe it was a police thing. He decided on a half truth, one that would satisfy Gene.

"I know him very well. You know when you've been on a criminal's trail for so long, you forget a time when you weren't chasing him? It's like that with me and him. I make up plans, he ruins them, I lay traps, he gets out of them. On and on."

"Why don't you just stop? Let some other copper run after him."

The Master smirked. "I'd never let anyone else catch The Doctor. He's mine."

Gene continued to watch him for a bit, then seemed to make a decision and stood up, lighting a cigar. "Alright. But I am not having you turn this division into your own little squad to track this nutter down. If we don't catch him now, you let him go. You're a good copper Sam, and I don't want you going Bad like Woolfe. Understand?"

He nodded and walked out of the office.


	3. Chapter 3

**I would have had this up sooner but I decided to rework a lot of it, to make it faster-paced.**

* * *

He had been in the station for a few hours and he was getting bored. At first he'd had fun making up crimes The Doctor had commited, and then he'd had half the station running around Manchester. Now he had nothing to do but wait for something to happen and fill out Sam's paperwork. He yawned, pushed the entire stack of papers into Sam's bin, then stood up and wandered around the department, memorizing every detail. There was a radio somewhere, and there was one of those old songs on.

"_I thought you died alone, a long long time ago... Oh no, not me, I never lost control..."_

Suddenly there was a burst of static that made the Master look up. There were snatches of conversation, but the static made it difficult to hear.

"-Something's happened- heart is going crazy- Sam-" This made The Master straighten up, and move towards where the sound was coming from. "-giving him sedatives, but- we could lose-" The Master became aware of a beeping, behind the drums. Like a heart monitor. The Master definetly wasn't a doctor, but it was fast, faster than it should be. It was getting louder, drowning out the drums. He put his hands on his ears, the noise was loud, impossibly loud.

Suddenly there was a burst of light, and he was in a forest. The light was dappeling through the trees. He looked down at his feet, which were small, in fancy polished dress shoes "Where are you?" He heard a child whisper. There was a woman scream and the forest blurred, and there was a flash of red, and the beeping was so loud, he couldn't hear the drums, what the hell was going on?...

"Boss!" The Master jumped, back in the department, staring at an old wireless. He turned to see Chris hurrying towards him. "Plod found something odd, the guv wants you there to see if it's anything to do with that Doctor bloke." The Master blinked, wondering what had happened. Sam had talked about something like this, but he wasn't Sam, no doubt about it, so why was he having the same vision? It seemed like a memory, but it couldn't be his. Apart from anything else, it was definetly a childhood memory, and he spent his entire childhood on Gallifrey, where the trees were silver, and the sky was burnt orange, and he could run all day with his best friend, across vast fields of red grass, and then lie under the stars together...

The Master forcibly stopped himself reminiscing. He had to focus on the situation at hand. He followed Chris into the Lost And Found ("It was the only place we could think of to put it."). When The Master got there most of A division was gathered around it, with Hunt banging on the door. The Master started laughing.

"Oh, this is fantastic, utterly brilliant!" He said, looking up at the TARDIS.

"I take you know what this thing is then?" Hunt asked, scowling at The Master's laughter.

"It's a police box!" He said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Are you high Boss?" Ray asked, eyebrow raised.

The Master tried to stop himself smiling. "Right, no, sorry. You won't get into it Gene. It's got all sorts of locks on it."

"We'll see about that. Raymundo, get me an axe."

The Master shook his head. "That won't work, either. The only way to get into that is if the Doctor lets you. Or you have a key."

"It's only wood Tyler. Give it enough whacks we'll get in pretty soon."

The Master just grinned. He folded his arms and waited for Ray to come back. When he did, he held the axe over his head, and with a mighty show of strength, lodged the axe right into the door. When he tried to get it out again, though, it was stuck fast.

"Well done Ray. Come on Chris, give him a hand." Chris and Ray together couldn't pull it out. Then Gene added his help, and the axe came flying out, and nearly hit the Master, if he hadn't ducked out of the way. When they inspected the damage on the door, The Master chuckled.

There wasn't a scratch.

"That's not possible." Ray said, stunned. "You saw how far in that axe went, there's no way it didn't make a dent at least."

"Maybe the box healed itself." The Master said, enjoying the display.

"Right." Gene pulled a gun from somewhere, and shot the lock. The Master was ready though, and dived to the ground as the bullet ricocheted off it and into the wall behind him.

"Bloody Nora." Chris said, watching The Master stand up again and brush the dirt off his shirt.

"You think no one's ever tried that?" The Master asked, casually.

"Someone get a crowbar!" Gene growled, taking his coat off and putting it on a nearby table. A Division, realising where this was going, shuffled towards the door, and out of range of the TARDIS. When Chris came back with the crowbar, there was only Ray, Gene and The Master left.

Gene shoved the crowbar into the slit which indicated a door and pushed. Eventually he put boot his on the side of the door for leverage. When his face was bright red he lost his grip and the crowbar flew in the direction of the chair where The Master was sitting in. When the crowbar clattered to a halt, The Master put the chair upright, picked up the crowbar, and handed it to Gene.

"What next?" He asked, enjoying the display.

* * *

Time passed. By the time it was getting dark they had gotten through five sets of lockpicks, four hammers, a pickaxe, every gun left in the station, three two-by-fours lashed together with duct tape, an entire toolbox, and at one point a small moped (it's amazing what you can find in a Lost And Found).

Gene had given up hours ago, and left the job to the other three, with the express instructions to "Use your bloody imaginations you poofs!". And The Master had ducked, weaved, dodged and generally avoided it every time it went wrong. Interestingly, the other two hadn't noticed the way the makeshift battering rams always headed his way.

"That box is demented!" Chris announced, after the failed attempt to burn it. The Master made sure there was a fire extinguisher nearby, but even so it had been a close call. If his respiratory by-pass system hadn't kicked in they might never have put it out. Black smoke hung in the air of the corridor and they were coughing and spluttering, although The Master less so than them.

"It's made of bloody wood! What sort of wood doesn't burn?" Ray asked.

"You can't get into it without the Doctor's permission, I told you that hours ago!" The Master said, testily.

"What do you suggest, Tyler? Seeing as your the big expert."

"Stop trying to get in. The fact that we've got it is enough. He'll try to get it back, sooner or later."

"What's he gonna do, walk out with it?" Ray scoffed.

"You'd be amazed." The Master walked off down the corridor.

"Where are you going?" Chris asked.

"I've had enough of this, I'm going home." He called over his shoulder.

"Oh fine, give in! Come on Chris, let's go try something else." Chris paled under the soot, but Ray didn't notice and pulled him back into the smoky room that had once been Lost And Found.

* * *

**To repeat what I said at the start, Sam is not the Master, in case anyone's getting ideas. Whoever names the song I used gets imaginary birthday cake :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**I know what you're thinking. 'She's making this up as she goes along, it's going to be ages between new chapter'. Well, actually, I wrote over 9,000 words on this fic before I put up chapter 1... and then rewrote chapter 3, and made 9/10s of what I'd written useless. So you're right. Sorry.**

**Congrats to KoscheithePianist and Catelly, they got it right. The cake was chocolate :)**

**Pairings thus far have been hinted at at best, non-existant at worst, but I was asked to write more Doctor/Master slash into this, but if anyone's got a problem with that, reveiw or PM me, and we'll see. No Sam/Gene though, the show says he ended up with Annie, that's how I'm writing this.**

* * *

Sam woke up in his bedsit, hands handcuffed behind him. He looked around in surprise. The last thing he remembered was working in the Collators Den, then... there was that man who looked just like him. As Sam started remembering more about what happened, he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. He rattled the handcuffs, and found there was no way to get them off. The guy, the one who called himself The Master, had handcuffed him to the pipe under the radiator. He leaned back, and looked around.

He sat there for a while. He tried calling for help, but he knew there was no point. In this part of town, people screamed for help all the time.

Then the door flew open. Sam jumped, thinking for a second it was the guv, but instead of him it was The Master, who shut the door behind him, and tossed Sam's jacket onto a chair.

"Let me go." Sam demanded, as The Master went through to the small kitchen, looking for something.

"No." The Master came back through, tucking Sam's gun into his belt.

"What are you doing with that?" Sam asked, a look of worry on his face.

"Insurance. The Doctor took the rest of them, which is very unlike him. Now, Sam, lets have a little chat about these visions of yours." The Master sat in front of him. Sam could almost see the cogs turning his mind. Sam tried to kick him, but he easily moved out of the way.

"Why?" Sam asked.

The Master raised his eyebrows. "Now Sam, if someone came up to you and told you thery were from the future and had visions of green forests and women screaming, you'd want to have a few words with them, don't you think?"

"I hardly came up to you." Sam spat bitterly. "I was hypnostised, and forced to tell you everything."

"Not all the time." The Master reminded him. He leaned against the end of Sam's cot.

"How did you do that, anyway?" Sam asked, curious despite himself.

"The hypnotism? It's a knack. A very useful one at that. I managed to rule the entire planet thanks to a little sublimal messaging through the mobile phone network."

Sam didn't know where to begin with that sentence. He picked the question at the top of the mess in his mind. "When was this?"

"Oh, 2007, 2008, it depends how you look at it. And stop looking so dumb-founded. Of course I'm a time traveller, why else would I believe your crazy little ideas?"

Sam nodded. "OK. Time traveller, doppelganger, megalomaniac. Anything else? You're not, I don't know, an alien or anything, are you?"

"And if I was?" The Master asked. Sam groaned.

"Why me?" Sam said desperatedly. "I didn't do anything wrong. I worked hard, I paid my taxes, I even gave to bloody charity. Now I'm sitting handcuffed to a radiator in a conversation with an alien who could be my twin brother. In _1973._"

"It's a tragedy, isn't it?" The Master said, mockingly. "You should be more like me. I don't bother with obeying any laws, I do what I want and wait for The Doctor to come and get me. And then I get him." He grinned.

"Who is the Doctor anyway?" Sam asked.

"Yes, who is he?" Said a voice from the bed. The Master snapped his head 'round to the little girl sitting cross legged on the cot, clown in her arms.

The Master stood up, feeling a surge of panic flow through him. Why? He wasn't scared of the Test Card Girl. But that beeping was back, slowly rising above the drums.

"What do you want?" The Master said, trying to appear unafraid.

"Two Sam Tylers. Except you aren't. You aren't like him. You aren't like anyone. You're all alone."

The Master glanced around to Sam, and was glad to see he was staring at her as well, his face drawn up in an expression of terror. At least it wasn't just him.

"You don't exist." Sam said, his voice uncharactaristically high as he tried to control his fear.

"Sam's lonely too, but there are more of him. You're the last of your kind. Sam is alone among millions, you're alone by yourself. Which is worse?"

"I'm not alone." The Master told her, the beeping reveberating around his skull in a way that was so much worse than the mere drums. "I've got the Doctor."

"No one lives forever. Not even Time Lords." He closed his eyes tightly against the pain. All of a sudden the beeping stopped. The Master looked up, and she was gone.

"Hell." The Master said.

"You can see her?" Sam asked, breathing heavily.

"Apparently." The Master said, looking around. He darted to his tattered suit that he'd discarded to the floor and rummaged in the pocket. He pulled out the sonic screwdriver and scanned the space where she'd been. There was a slight electrical trace, but not enough to suggest a hologram, or any other kind of electrical device.

The Master stood, taking several deep breaths. He was far more rattled than he should have been. He was sure his adrenalin levels had been artificially increased. He had to know what was doing it, and why. "I'm going to go back to the station. I need to find the Doctor, and maybe try and get into the TARDIS."

"You're not leaving me on my own?" Sam said, worried.

"I can't exactly take you with me. Hold on." He jammed the sonic screwdriver into his pocket and pulled out a bottle of pills.

"Sleeping tablets. Got them on my way here." he opened the bottle and took out two, and crouched next to Sam. "Open up." He said.

Sam gave him a look, and kept his mouth clamped shut. The Master rolled his eyes and said "I am the Master, and you will obey me. Open you mouth, and swallow these pills."

Sam tried to resist, but he couldn't stop himself from doing as he was told, and The Master tilted his head up, and forced the pills down. Then he straightened up and grabbed the leather jacket from where he'd tossed it when he'd first entered and left.

* * *

The Master was walking back to the station, Sam's leather jacket wrapped around him in the light drizzle. He was thinking furiously about the visions. They could of passed from Sam to him somehow, but he didn't see how. Maybe it was something at the station. What were the visions of, anyway?

He stopped suddenly. He stood up straight, then lowering his head slightly he closed his eyes and breathed deeply, smelling the air. The Doctor was nearby, but he coldn't tell how close.

He looked around, but couldn't see him. Feeling ever so slightly paranoid, he walked around the corner and found himself in front of the pub he'd been in front of earlier, when he'd first met Gene Hunt and the other two. Feeling the Doctor wouldn't try anything around humans, he walked into it and sat at the bar.

He was expecting Hunt to be in here, but the pub was pratically empty. The landlord, came up to him, polishing a glass. "What can I get you mon brave?" He asked in a Jamaican accent.

"A glass of whiskey, thanks." He said, guessing at what Sam would have.

"Coming up. Where are Mr Hunt and the rest of CID tonight, Sam?" He asked, grabbing a glass from under the bar.

"Chris and Ray are still at the station, don't know where Hunt-" He stopped abrubtly. He could smell him. He was so close.

"Actually, can I get two glasses?" he asked the landlord.

"Why?"

"I'm expecting someone." The landlord raised his eyebrows, but poured two glasses, The Master paid for them and took them to a table in the corner of the pub, facing the door, and waited.

* * *

**Huh. This is kind of more serious than I expected. Oh well. I expect the next chapter will be better, but what do I know, I'm just the writer.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Seeing as noone's said anything, I assume nobody's got a problem with slash. Or you didn't bother to read the author's note. Either way. There's not much in this chapter, just basic hinting.**

**I've finally decided this fic is set just before 1.6, or the episode before the first season finale. Of, course, that means Woolfe is still as far as everyone knows a good copper, so if you just ignore that I'll be very grateful. :) As for DW, it's after Last Of The TimeLords, so it's the boring old AU where The Master wasn't shot. It's the easiest explanation, and to be honest I can't be bothered to figure out a new one, when that works perfectly well.**

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The Doctor opened the door, and slipped inside. He spotted the Master almost immediately, and walked slowly towards the table.

"I bought you a drink." The Master said, smiling good-naturedly. The Doctor sat down.

"So you're finally getting around to the formalities." The Doctor noted drily. The Master chuckled, and drank his whisky. The Doctor picked his up and examined it.

"It's whisky, Doctor, I can guarantee it's not poison." The Doctor sipped it, still watching the Master.

"Why haven't you run?" The Doctor asked.

"Run?"

"This was meant to be temporary. You were going to take Sam's place until you could run off. You should've done that as soon as you'd heard I'd broken out."

"Am I really that predictable?" He was dragging it out. He didn't want to seem desperate to run to the Doctor the second something happened. But that beeping had scared him. The visions he could deal with, and he could definetly deal with a weird little girl, no matter what happened to his adrenalin. But the beeping drowned out the drums. That meant, if he could figure out what the beeping was, he might find out what the drums were. Then he could prove to The Doctor he wasn't crazy.

"Yes. But, because you haven't done that, I assume something's happened. Is it something to do with Sam?" The Master glanced around to the landlord. He was cleaning a table on the far side of the pub.

"Sam's from the future." He told the Doctor. The Doctor looked surprised.

"Is he?"

The Master nodded. "Hit by a car in 2006 and woke up here. Or at least that's his story."

"You think it's something else?"

"Well, obviously. He's been seeing things. And there's a beeping, like a heart monitor. And he hears the voices of doctors and nurses."

"Where is he?"

"I took him to his flat. I gave him a couple of sleeping pills before I left." The Master smirked. "He'll be completely out of it." The Doctor downed his drink and stood up.

"I'd better go see him then. See if these visions are anything serious. Then we'll have to break into the police station and nick the TARDIS back. Maybe I can help Sam get back to 2006." The Master nodded, and stood up as well. This made The Doctor pause and his brow furrowed.

"You agree with me?"

"Why shouldn't I? It's what I would do." The Master made to leave, but The Doctor stopped. The landlord looked up at them, The Doctor glanced at him, then stepped closer to The Master.

"No, what you would do is just leave. You don't care about helping other people, unless there's some kind of benefit to you." He said.

"Maybe I just want to act like a Good Samaritan for a change." The Master said, with false brightness, silently cursing himself for not putting up more of a fight. "Your morals are rubbing off on me."

"Master." The Doctor warned. The Master sighed, and looked angrily at a point above The Doctor's shoulder.

"I've started seeing them as well."

The Doctor didn't move, but The Master could tell the words had sunk in. "Oh."

"Yeah. Lets go." The Master brushed past him, and The Doctor followed him out the pub. He glanced around, looking for police, then sped up to walk side by side with The Master. It was mid-summer, so it still wan't that dark, but the streetlights were on and there weren't many people around. They walked in silence.

When they got in The Doctor swept to Sam's side, checking his vitals.

"I told you, he's fine, I just gave him some sleeping pills." The Master said, leaning in the doorway.

"I just want to check. If you've started seeing things as well you might have been exposed to something, and it might react with the sleeping pills." He examined the handcuffs. By now they had left deep red rashes where the metal had rubbed against his skin. The Doctor dug a hand into his pocket.

"Looking for this?" The Master asked, holding the sonic screwdriver loosely.

"Pass me the sonic screwdriver." The Master crossed the room, so he was standing next to the radiator and activated it. There was a click as the handcuffs unlocked. The Doctor took them off and pocketed them.

"What's your diagnosis?" The Master asked.

"He's okay. You're not normally so generous towards prisoners, if I remember."

"I've got a bit of a soft spot for little Sammy." The Master smiled evilly.

The Doctor snorted. "If you have a soft spot for someone you try even harder to kill them."

"If someone turned up who looked exactly like you would you beat him to a pulp? It's pratically self-harm. And I don't try to kill everyone I like Doctor. Just you." He slid down the wall so he was sitting next to Sam. When compared it was freaky exactly how alike they were. If The Master wasn't a time lord, The Doctor could never tell them apart.

"Lucky me." The Doctor muttered. He sat back and bit his lip, thinking. "

"I'd better see these visions for myself." The Doctor raised his hand up to The Master head, but he jerked back.

"You're not going anywhere near my mind." The Master told him. He didn't want the Doctor in his head.

"How am I supposed to know what's happening?" The Doctor asked, looking slightly hurt.

"Would you trust me in your mind? Check Sam. They're his visions after all." The Doctor looked reluctant, then sighed, then put his hand's on either side of Sam's head and closed his eyes.

The Doctor skimmed lightly over Sam's mind, painfully aware he didn't have permission to do this. The Master was a bad influence on him.

He searched for anything out of the ordinary. It didn't take him long to find it. There was evidence of some serious interference from a foreign consciousness. Someone had been messing around in there. The Doctor digged a little deeper, following the thread back to when it had first started,and found the relevant memories. He let himself sink into them, experiencing them as Sam did.

_Sam was driving along a road, a motorway. He was upset about something. He hit the steering wheel, and swore. Suddenly a car overtook him, and he was forced to stop. He sat there, trying to calm down, to think it through. There was an Ipod, playing a song. Life on Mars. Sam rolled down the window and got out, leaning against the windowsill, angry, afraid. He moved, stood up straight, just in time to see the front of a blue car coming towards him. He only saw it for a second, then there was a crash as the windshield broke under the weight of Sam breaking into it. He rolled, straight over the car, and fell with a thud on the hard ground. _

_Then the pain started. He blacked out. He could hear the sound of his heart, thumping in his chest. He could hear the song still playing. He blinked, and he could hear sirens, coming closer. Then a man's voice. "Charge to 200 joules. Stand Clear." There was a thump, then the beeping started, fast, very fast. _

_Sam could see a canopy, the light filtering through the green leaves. He moved, he could see the sun. He heard a child, incredibly close by. "Where are you? Where are you?" The child was breathing heavily, almost gasping as the beeping came back, getting louder, still too fast. _

_There were shoes, fancy dress ones, walking through the grass. He saw a child's arm, touching a young sapling, moving along. __The song, Life on Mars, was playing, the trees were going past faster, quicker, sped up by the beeping, there was a flash of red through the trees, another thump, then the beeping got slower, more stable, a steady beep, beep, beep Sam opened his eyes, it was a typical cloudy sky, no sign of any trees, the echoey beeping still there but with a final thump and a jolt, that sounded like electricity, the beeping got fainter, the song, now grainy, coming from somewhere a little way away from him. He sat up, breathing heavily. What had happened? He stood up. He was in a wasteland, smoking piles of debris and what looked like factories all around him. He was so confused, and his head hurt, where was he?_

"Doctor?" The Doctor opened his eyes and pulled his hands away from Sam. The Master had grabbed his shoulder, and was looking at him, worridly. He was breathing heavily himself, and sweat glistening on Sam's forehead. He had fallen over when the Doctor pulled his hands away, and was now lying sprawled on the carpet.

"Right. I'm Ok. That was very... vivid."

"Did you find anything out?" The Master asked, still scanning the Doctor's face for any signs of ill health.

"Not much. I know someone's been tampering with his mind, but I can't tell whether Sam is really remembering the events from when he got hit by the car and came here, or whether it's all been faked by someone."

"But what about the voices? The doctors and nurses, and the Test Card Girl."

"I don't- wait. Test Card Girl?" The Doctor stopped, confused.

"The girl with the clown. Off the telly." The Master clarified.

"I know who the Test Card Girl is. What she got to do with anything?"

"She appeared here earlier. She threatened us, sort of. When she showed up that beeping started up again." The Master said.

The Doctor stared at the Master for a moment. Then he crawled over to the telly, and pushed it over, so the screen was face down on the floor. Then he paused, and looked up at The Master.

"Give me the sonic." He said, holding his hand out. The Master pulled it out again, and tossed it to him.

"Well?" The Master asked, slightly put out The Doctor wasn't explaining himself.

The Doctor rapidly turned it on and undid the screws holding the back on and took that off. "Hah!" He exclaimed. The Master crawled over to him and saw what he'd found. Jammed into the telly, along with the mess of wires connecting the various components was a small chunky metallic box, sticking out like a sore thumb amid the 70's style electronics.

"Someone's replaced the oscillator with something much more high tech." The Master said. "It's plugged into the television, using the same carrier wave. The signal's sent to the television, then that hijacks and manipulates it. That's genius."

"Also doubles as a projector for your Test Card Girl." The Doctor added. The Master shook his head.

"I scanned the area she appeared in with the sonic. There was an electrical trace. Not enough for a hologram, but way too much for a simple image."

"Maybe. But it explains the beeping. It isn't a heart monitor, it's a frequency." The Master's head spun. The beeping had drowned out the drums, and the beeping was a frequency. Maybe it hadn't drowned them out, maybe it had overridden them? That would mean the drums worked on the same frequency, which meant they were a signal. If he could find who had made this signal, he might find a way to block out the drums, or even better, trace the drums back to the source. He could get rid of them.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. The Master and The Doctor jumped. "Sam? Open up, it's me." The gruff voice of the guv called out.

"One minute." The Master called. The Doctor grabbed Sam and pulled him towards the kitchen. The Master sonicked the back onto the television, then pushed both into the kitchen.

"What are you doing in there, Tyler, hiding a body?" Gene said, impatiently.

The Master made sure they were hidden, then opened the door with a flourish. Gene was standing there, looking very unimpressed, his hands shoved into the pockets of his camel coat. "Gene, what are you doing here?" The Master asked, slightly breathessly.

"Just checking. This Doctor was after you, and then he stole those guns. I don't want my DI get his head blown in."

"Yeah well, as you can see-" Gene pushed past him, and into the flat.

"D'you know, it's funny Tyler. I was on my way to the Railway Arms, when I spotted that Doctor. I got of my car and started following him on foot. Imagine my surprise when I saw he was heading the same way I was. Then, I saw my DI, Sam Tyler, heading towards the pub as well." Gene turned away from The Master, and looked down at the television, which was still face down on the carpet.

"Now, I was thinking he was going to try and attack Sam again, and he was going to do it in the pub. I went back to my car and radioed for backup. But then, when I get back, I see my DI coming out of the pub. Followed by the Doctor." Gene turned back to face The Master, who was stood, expressionless.

"What do you think about that, Sam?" Gene asked, waiting for The Master to do something. Then he drew Sam's gun and pointed it at Gene. Gene sighed.

"I was afraid you'd do that." Chris and Ray appeared in the doorway, pointing their own guns at The Master. The Master looked at them, and grinned.

"It's a fair cop." The Master said, handing the gun to Gene and putting his hands up. "Better come out Doctor." He called towards the kitchen. The Doctor poked his head around the door, saw what was going on, and came out properly.

"I can explain." The Doctor began, as he and The Master were handcuffed.

"You better. And you can start with where those guns are." Gene said. The Doctor's brow furrowed.

"Guns? What guns?"

"Don't be an idiot, Doctor, those guns you took from their weapons locker when you broke out." The Master said, taking in Chris and Ray's betrayed looks with relish.

"I didn't take any guns. I hate weapons." The Doctor looked over at The Master. "Did you take their guns?"

The Master looked right back at him, his grin fading. "No. Why would I? I had that one." He jerked his towards the gun in Gen's hand.

"I didn't take them." The Doctor said, genuinly confused. "I broke out of my cell and left. I've spent half the day running from police cars, and hunting you down."

"Hang on, hang on." Gene interjected looking between the two of them. "Are you two saying neither of you have my guns?" They both shook their heads. "Then where the hell are they?"

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**This chapter is very frustrating, because I expected it to turn out better. Still, I've made some headway, I think. **


	6. Chapter 6

I'm very incredibly sorry, I've been busy, and I've had writer's block. Still, that's one good thing about weather, I've had nothing to do but go on the internet.

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Annie looked up from the stack of papers she was filing, as Phyliss came into the room.

"It might be a good idea for you to go 'ome now Annie." she said, the stressed look she got when she thought things were going to kick off.

"Why?" Annie asked. It was a bit late, but she was covering for another girl, and anyway she could do with the overtime pay.

Phyliss pursed her lips, which told Annie she was about to lie to her. "The guv's going to double the search on that Doctor. If you're around when he comes in he'll keep you in all night."

Annie didn't know what was going on, but she was damned if she was going to miss it by going home. "I don't mind. Publice service and all that."

"Right." Phyliss look anxious, but turned to leave. She paused, then turned back to her. "You spend time with DI Tyler. Has he ever mentioned this Doctor?"

Annie considered it. "No. He doesn't like talking about Hyde much." Sam never talked about Hyde at all, it was all about the... other thing. Actually, now she came to think about it more, the fact he was now talking about some dangerous criminal who had followed him from Hyde was downright alarming.

Suddenly there was shouting coming from the front. Annie and Phyliss exchanged glances, then went to see what was going on.

"You've gone too far this time Hunt!" came the irate voice of DCI Litton. When the girls got there, DCI Hunt and DCI Litton were having a shouting match, Litton's lot were standing around nervously, Ray and Chris were holding onto the arms of Sam, and some other bloke, presumably the Doctor, both of which were handcuffed.

"The entire contents of the weapons locker goes missing along with one of your collars and you didn't think to even _mention_ it to Armed Response!"

"We were handling it in case you hadn't noticed. We've got the culprits 'ere, all we got to do is bang them up."

"Oi." The Doctor said indignantly. "We're innocent!"

"Of that." Sam added. He had that insane grin on his face again.

"I haven't committed any crime at all. You on the other hand..."

"Oh great idea Doctor, tell the big angry policeman I'm guilty as sin."

"But you are."

"But they don't know that."

"They don't even know what you've done that you're guilty of."

"That's what questioning's for isn't it?" Gene butted in, who had been looking more and more frustrated through the exchange.

"What's going on?" Annie, asked. "Sam?" Chris and Ray looked away, and even Gene looked sheepish.

"I told you to get her out before we got here." Gene hissed at Phyliss, who had crossed her arms and was biting her lip.

"Hunt, I insist the investigation is handed over to RCS."

"Shut up Litton, go kiss the super's arse or something. Chris, Ray, take them to Lost and Found."

"Lost and Found? I thought we were going to an interrogation room, or a cell." The Doctor looked a little confused.

"They don't have an interrogation room. They do them in the Lost and Found. 1973, bloody primitive. Actually strike that, this planet is bloody primitive."

"God, Tyler, you really are mental aren't you." Ray said, contempt on his face. Chris's face was just blank.

"Oh yes. According to my Doctor, at any rate. I don't think so, but then again mental people don't think they're mental, do they?"

"Shut it Tyler." Gene pushed him along, out of the room.

"Hunt!"Litton yelled, going after them.

Annie and Phyliss were left on their own. "Why's Sam being arrested?" Annie asked.

"Not just Sam, the Doctor as well."

Annie was confused, and beginning to feel hurt. "But why?"

"Well, they think he stole those guns."

"What, Sam? Why would they think that?"

"Well, The guns went missing about the same time as the Doctor escaped, so he's clearly part of it. The Doctor was Sam's collar, he lied to the guv about knowing the Doctor, and they saw him leaving the Arms with the Doctor. The evidence points to them being in it together, Annie."

"It's all circumstantial! Even The Doctor escaping when the guns went. There's no actual proof!" Phyliss sighed, and went back to the front desk, not wanting to argue with her. Annie hesitated, at a loss of what to do. Acting on an impulse, she headed towards the Lost And Found. There was no one around when she got there, but she could hear voices in the room. She stood outside, listening to the guv's muffled yelling. She opened the door a little, just so she could hear what he was saying.

"-smart arsed little traitor!"

"Don't beat about the bush Hunt, tell me what you really think about me." Sam sounded like he was having fun. Annie had no idea what had gotten into him. Baiting the guv was one thing, but actually goading him during an interrogation, when he was the one being interrogated. Maybe this was some new form of suicide he was trying.

"This is all your fault, you know that? Ever since you showed up, my DI been acting like this. Exactly what did you to him?"

"Me?" The Doctor tone was one of surprised innocence. "I haven't done anything to him. Are you going to keep us here for long? I'd quite like my box back, and then there's something we've got to deal with-"

"That's another thing in this mess that makes no sense. Why on Earth have you got a ruddy police box?"

"I just do. Can I have it back?"

"Not until you let us in." Annie heard Sam laugh.

"What's so funny Tyler?"

"You'll never get in there, and believe me you probably don't want to."

"Really?" There was silence for a moment, then the was the sound of Gene punching someone, making Annie flinch. There was a clatter as a chair fell to the floor, and a scraping of the other chair.

"You do that again and I'll kill you. No one hits him but me." Annie was shocked by the sudden change of tone in Sam's voice. Before he'd sounded happy and cheerful. Now he sounded incredibly serious.

"I do what I like as you know, Tyler, there's no point making empty threats."

"Who said it was empty?" Sam's voice was dangerously low.

"Don't." The Doctor's voice rang out with a commanding tone, but Annie couldn't tell who he was talking to.

There was the sound of the chairs being pulled in, and then there was an uneasy silence.

"Chris, Ray." There was the sound of footsteps. Annie looked around wildly, and ducked into a filing room. The door to Lost and Found was slammed shut.

"What do we do, guv?" Ray asked

"They haven't really done anything." Chris added.

"Litton'll be back soon with that order from the super, I'll let him have a go at them. If Litton acts like his normal poncy self with Sam in that mood we'll kill two birds with one stone. Almost literally." Annie heard them walking away.

She waited until they were gone, then opened the door to Lost and Found and went in.

"-before they come back." The Doctor had somehow managed to get out of his handcuffs, and was unlocking Sam's.

"What's going on?" Annie asked. They both looked up, surprised.

Sam recovered first. "Annie, I can explain everything, but the Doctor and I have to get out of here."

"You're under arrest. You took the weapons." there was a click as The Doctor got them off. Sam stood up and came over to her.

"Annie, I swear we're innocent. You have to trust me." He was looking at her, willing her to believe him. Annie felt something was off, but he seemed so desperate.

"Sam, please. What is all this about, and who is he?" She pointed at The Doctor, who had a key in the door of the police box and looking furtively at the two of them.

"He's a fellow police officer, from Hyde. I was placed deep undercover to find police corruption in this station. We believe someone's been stealing weapons seized from several different investigations. We faked an assault so the Doctor could be brought in to asssist me and no one would suspect anything. Then the guns from the weapons locker was stolen, and Hunt saw us together, and he put two and two together and made five."

"Sam, if all of that's true, why did The Doctor break out?" Sam gaped at her for a while, then laughed, and looked at the Doctor.

"Oh well, worth a try. What do we do with her?" Annie backed off, but Sam grabbed her arm.

"Just leave her. Let's go." The Doctor opened the door and stood outside it, waiting for him. Sam looked disappointed.

"Is that it? Can't we kill her? If we're going to be arrested, we might as well be arrested for something interesting." Annie started panicking, and pulled away, but Sam was gripping her arm tightly.

"Master, I'm not letting you kill every random person you happen to meet, now hurry up." Sam sighed theatrically, let go of her and walked over to the box. The Doctor gave him a look, then stepped into the box.

"Sam, you're not acting yourself." Annie said shakily. Sam hung in the doorway of the box so he was looking at her sideways.

"Finally, she figures it out!" He grinned lopsidedly at her, then swung inside the box, the door closing behind him. There was a thump and then a wheezing noise started. The light on top started flashing and a wind whipped around Annie. Then, slowly but surely, the box disappeared.

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Well, it's not that bad, I suppose.

Procrastination's a wonderful thing isn't it? I sat down to write this thing and now I've watched three episodes of QI and downloaded Google Earth.


	7. Chapter 7

**It's been a while but I have a decent excuse this time, namely Christmas and The New Year. The end of the first year of the new decade. Impressed so far? No me neither. Actually I'm quietly panicking, because I've got some rather important exams coming up this year and I have less than no chance in getting a decent mark in anything apart from RS. Still, enough about my problems.**

**So far there had been very little of any kind of relationship. I suppose I'm more worried about the plot (which probably means you should be too). But I've tried put a bit more in.**

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The moment the Master had swung the door shut The Doctor started the engines and left.

"Where are we going?" The Master asked, strolling up to the main consol, watching the Doctor whizz around it.

"To get Sam. The first place they'll go is back to that flat, and then they'll find him." The Master grabbed the Doctor's head as he went past, making the Doctor jerk as his head stayed in one place and his body carried on. The Doctor lost his balance, and with a slight yelp he was completely supported by The Master. The Master examined the bruise forming around his eye closely.

"He punched you in the same place I did this morning." The Master said, touching it and making the Doctor wince slightly.

"It'll heal quick enough. Slightly longer than it would've otherwise, but it's fine. You wouldn't really have killed them, would you?" The Master growled.

"I have to kill one of them. I haven't killed anyone since you decided to make me travel with you. I miss it." The Doctor looked disapprovingly up at him.

"You don't have to kill anyone. There's no reason for you to."

"Annie will give us away, Chris is irritating, Ray's an ignorant ape, and Sam is a disappointment. I'd never let myself be kidnapped, forcefed narcotics and handcuffed to my own radiator."

"What about Hunt?" The Master's eyes narrowed.

"He hurt you. Only I get to do that. Like this." Then he dropped the Doctor, who hit his head on the floor.

"Ow." He sat up, and rubbed his head. He gave The Master a dirty look, who was standing over him with a huge grin on his face. "You need a new hobby." He told him reproachfully.

"Why? It's fun hurting you." The Master held out his hand. The Doctor ignored it, grabbed the consol and pulled himself up. The Master flicked a switch experimentally, but drew back his hand sharply as the TARDIS started to spark.

"She still carries a grudge." The Master noted.

"Really? Why would she do that?" The Doctor said sarcastically, as he rubbed the console soothingly. "Never mind him. He's got a duplicate I can replace him with, as soon as I pick him up." The Doctor said, smiling up at the rotor, which clanged hopefully.

"You wouldn't." The Master said, a cross between scorn and worry. The Doctor chuckled.

"Why shouldn't I? He doesn't beat me up, he doesn't run off, and he doesn't expect me to fix every problem he makes."

"That's part of my charm." The Master slipped under the Doctor's arm and leaned against the consol. "I know you like solving problems, I know you like running and I know you secretly like me beating you up." The Doctor scoffed, but didn't look him in the eye. The Master's grin widened.

"And besides, you like having me." The Master grabbed his tie and pulled The Doctor closer to him. "In the TARDIS. Or on a different planet. Or just anywhere we happen to end up in." The Doctor coughed.

There was a clunk, as the time rotor stopped moving. "We've landed." The Doctor pulled himself away and literally ran towards the door.

The Master huffed. "Scaredy cat." He looked up at the TARDIS. "I thought you didn't have a sense of timing." The Master jumped up as the consol became electrified. "There's no need to be like that." The TARDIS made a grumbling sound. The Master smoothed out hs shirt, and ran after the Doctor.

* * *

Gene swept into the room, Chris and Ray behind him. He'd decided it wasn't a good idea to leave the two of them alone, seeing how quickly the Doctor had got out the last time. He stopped short. Annie was standing there, staring at where the police box had been mere minutes ago when he'd left to get Litton, who'd disappeared somewhere. Gene was about to yell at Annie, but he stopped when he saw she was shaking, and there were tears streaming down her eyes. The Doctor and Sam were nowhere to be seen.

"Annie, love, what happened?" Gene asked grabbing her arms, and sitting her down in one of the chairs.

"Sam... Sam..." Then she burst into tears. Chris and Ray exchanged looks.

"Chris, Ray, go back to Tyler's flat, and fast." The guv glared at them so feroiciously Chris and Ray they pratically scrambled over each other to get out the room. Gene turned back to her.

"Okay, Annie, tell what he did." He told her, pulling out a handkerchief to give to her and silently thanking the missus for insisting on him carrying one everywhere he went, like he was a bloody school kid.

Annie took the handkerchief, rubbed her eyes and took a deep shuddering breath. "He wanted to kill me guv. He grabbed my arm, and asked that Doctor if he could kill me. He was grinning like a lunatic." Her mascara was running, giving her panda eyes, and she tried to rub it off onto the handkerchief.

"What did the Doctor do?" Gene asked. Any hope he may have harboured of Sam being coerced into something by the Doctor was disappearing rapidly.

"The Doctor said he couldn't. He said he wouldn't let him 'kill every random person he happened to meet.' What does that mean? We haven't just met, we've known each other for months."

"Maybe the Doctor didn't know that. Maybe The Doctor really is a doctor. I mean, we both know how much of a nutcase Sam is."

"He is a nutcase. I know he's a nutcase. He tells me things, Guv. He thinks..." Annie bit her lip, unsure even now whether she should divulge Sam's biggest secret. Gene knew a confession when he heard one, and all he had to do was just wait.

Annie took a deep breath. "Sam thinks he's from the future. That car accident he had when he first came here, it did something to his head, and he sees things and hears things and sometimes I ask him about Hyde and it's like he's never even been there." She said it all in a rush, then looked away, ashamed with herself.

Gene blinked. As the no-nonsense guv, he should start laughing and assure Annie that he's just a nutter and they were going to catch him and throw him in the nick from now until the time he thinks he's from. But there was still the undeniable fact that a two ton wooden box had suddenly disappeared in less than five minutes, in a completely solid room and with only one witness. And the fact his DI wanted to kill the girl he was totally besotted with, which he knew he'd never do, no matter how much of a lunatic he was. It was like he'd turned into a different person, ever since the Doctor arrived.

"Annie, what happened to the box?" Gene asked, and immediately regretted it, because she started crying again.

"It disappeared!" She cried, rubbing her eyes with the handkerchief. "It literally vanished, right before my eyes. They stepped into it, and the light on the top started flashing, it started making this noise, and it disappeared. It just doesn't make sense."

Gene stared at her. She seemed to be telling the truth, in which case she was right, it didn't make any sense at all. But he was damned if he was just going to sit there and let keep not making sense.

"Come on." He said, pulling Annie up and leaving the room. Instead of going out to the cortina, though, he went through to CID and to the personel files. Annie watched bemused as he kneeled down and opened the staff forms and grabbed Sam's file.

He stood up and opened it, looking over the papers, looking for something abnormal.

"Here, Sam's transfer form. We call up this DCI Morgan and find out what exactly happened."

"I would have thought you'd be running after Sam and The Doctor as fast as you could, guv."

"Those two, whatever else they are, aren't stupid. They won't go back to that flat. Sam's spent enough time here to know where to go to become invisible. And who knows what the Doctor's got up his sleeve. Get the phone."

* * *

Sam opened his eyes blearily, his throat dry and his head dizzy. He sat up, and was surprised to find he was in his kitchen. Sometimes he really wished he knew what was going on. And that his brain could come up with slightly more plausible scenarios. Right now, all he knew for certain was that he was thirsty, so he pulled himself up to the sink, grabbed a cup, poured himself some water and tried to get his head to stop spinning.

After a couple of minutes he worked up the courage to stagger through to the main room. There was no one there. The entire place was eerily quiet. The telly was still upturned, not that Sam was complaining. He really didn't feel up to facing the Test Card Girl.

Now, what to do. He had no idea at all where The Master was, and even less where the mysterious Doctor was, although he had an idea he may have been here while he was unconscious, because he had some vague memory of The Master talking to someone. Gene and the rest were presumably either at home or still at the station, if they still didn't know what had happened. He had two choices; stay here and wait to be found by someone, or go to the station and try to sort things out without seeming insane.

He decided to take his chances at the station. By now it was properly dark outside, and glancing at the clock he found it was very nearly midnight. Gene would probably be there, the only time the man went home was when he got drunk, and he didn't think he'd drunk that much today. Well, by Gene Hunt standards.

He made his way slowly out of the flat and down to the street below. Again everything was incredibly quiet. Normally, this was one of the things he liked about 1973. The pubs closed at 11, so by the time 12 came along there the revellers had made their way home and normal people were asleep. It didn't mean the streets were any safer, it just meant the people were comitting crimes that made less noise. But if you concentrated you could trick yourself into believing everything was good, and fine, and no one was or were going to make his life difficult.

Normally. Now it was suspicious. The silence was tense, waiting for something to happen. There were no people, no cars, no animals, nothing. The street was completely deserted, the orange glow from the street lights were the only things breaking the darkness, creating pools of light. He made his way slowly down the street, heels clicking against the pavement. It wasn't raining, but there was a feeling of moisture in the air, and every so often a droplet would fall onto Sam's skin. Sam's heart started pounding for no good reason, and he quickened his pace.

He turned the corner, and nearly jumped out of his skin when a strange sound filled the air. He looked around wildly, and nearly had a heart attack when he saw a blue box fade into existence across the street, a light going on and off at the same time as the sound waxed and waned, like a huge engine. There was a thump, the light went out and the noise stopped. A man came running out of it, stopped in the middle of the road then turned to look back at it, running a hand through his hair.

After a moment, another man came out, and Sam stumbled back, trying not to be seen. It was the Master, who ran out as well, and stopped short of the first man.

"This way to Sam's flat, isn't it?" The man who must've been The Doctor said, slightly breathless.

"Yep. We'll have to be quick though, the humans will get there soon, and then we're going to have problems." The Master was examining The Doctor, looking slightly unhappy about something.

"You know, there's still something wrong with this. I've seen something, something... off, but I don't know what." Sam kept moving back, hoping he wouldn't be seen.

"With what exactly? You and I, or Sam?" The Doctor stopped talking, but Sam couldn't see his expression from here. Then Sam put his foot straight in a small puddle. The two aliens looked around at the noise.

"It's Sam!" The Doctor exclaimed, as Sam turned and ran. The two ran after him, trying to catch him.

Sam thundered down one street and then down another, dodging down an alley, but the two were right behind them, The Master in front and The Doctor a little way behind him.

Sam ran across the road, and was nearly hit by a car. He looked round at the screech of brakes, and his eyes widened as the headlights came towards him. For a second he thought he was dead, but the car managed to slow down and stop a few yards from him. When it had stopped, the driver and the passenger got out. "Tyler!" cried a harsh, familiar voice.

"Ray!" Sam yelled in relief, never thinking he'd be happy to see him. The relief lasted a second before The Master barrelled into him, nearly knocking him over. The Master kept them upright, and clamped a hand over his mouth and pulled him into the side street.

"Tyler, they want to arrest you," The Master muttered in his ear, moving quickly down the side street, easily overpowering Sam in his dizzy and confused state. "They think you've stolen their firearms and threatened to kill one WPC Cartwright." Sam made an angry noise and doubled his efforts to push The Master away. "Don't worry, she's safe for now. But if I leave then you'll take the blame, and who knows what'll happen to you. But if you come with me, The Doctor and I will figure out why you're here and more importantly, _get you back home._" Sam stopped in surprise, which allowed the Master to push him through an unlocked gate and into someone's back garden. Chris and Ray ran straight past them. After a moment The Master lowered his hand, and loosened his grip on him.

"You can take me back." Sam said, slowly.

"Absolutely. That box you saw, that was a TARDIS. It's stands for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space."

"It's a time machine." Sam said, hardly believing it.

"As you humans say. We can take you back whenever you like, although the Doctor would probably like to wait until we find out how you got here in the first place."

"Oh my god." Sam said, grabbing his head. It was starting to hurt more, from this revelation. He could get back. He could go home. Back to the future.

"Hang on." Sam asked, trying to find a flaw in this. There was no way after all this time he was just getting a ticket home for free. "Why do you want to help me?"

"It's what The Doctor does." The Master said simply. "He helps people. I couldn't care less about any of this, but The Doctor has an unsatable curiousity, and a heart far too big for his own good. Not only will he help you, he'll figure out the entire mystery and for good measure find those ridiculous guns that-" The Master stopped abruptly. Sam saw worry slowly unfold on his face.

"What is it?" Sam asked. The Master stared at nothing, and Sam saw the spark of real fear in his eyes, which surprised Sam more than a lot of other things tonight. Somehow he doubted the Master was the kind to scare easily, little girls with clowns aside.

Suddenly the Master closed his eyes and breathed in sharply, like he was smelling the air. He opened them again and went back out into the street. "Doctor?" He called, going back the way they had come. Sam, followed him, at a loss for anything else to do. Slowly The Master picked up speed, calling out his name again. Sam followed him back to the main road, by which time The Master seemed to be really panicking.

"He's gone." The Master told him.


	8. Chapter 8

**I wrote three different versions of this chapter, and when I finally decided on the one I want to use my computer began a memory dump every time I tried to type it. **

**I have found out that I can't write Gene Hunt. Which is rather difficult, but I am trying my best.**

* * *

"Gone? Where to?" The Master whirled around, going from frightened to enraged nearly instantaneously. He almost went for Sam's throat, but instead he just ran both hands through his hair.

"How the hell am I supposed to know? One minute I can sense him right behind me, the next..." He made a noise, somewhere between a growl and a whimper. Sam wasn't even sure if that was possible, but somehow the Master pulled it off. Sam wondered if he looked like this when he lost it, then decided he didn't. He doubted anyone but The Master could look both like he was about to have a panic attack and about to kill someone at the same time.

Then the moment passed. The Master shut his eyes tightly, and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm overreacting." The Master muttered. He cracked his neck, then breathed in, the way he did in the garden. Sam moved tentatively closer, and he could seeing his eyes darting under his eyelids.

"He's alive." He announced, eyes still shut. "But... there's something wrong. Someone's trying to drown him out. Hah, good luck, it's like trying to suppress a fire, even if you put it out you can still smell what burned." Suddenly he snapped his eyes open, and The Master spun on his heel and marched back down the alley.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked, unsure whether he should make a run for it or not.

"Going back to the TARDIS." He called over his shoulder. Sam, at a loss of what else to do, followed him, wishing The Master hadn't nicked his coat. He still felt dizzy, his head hurt and the slight drizzle was doing nothing to help either of these. He had to trot slightly to keep up with the Master quick, determined strides back the way they had run.

When they were back at the box the Master pulled out a key. "I pickpocketed the Doctor." He told Sam, sliding it into the lock and turning. "I wasn't aiming for the key, but you don't look a gift horse in the mouth." The door creaked open, and The Master slipped through, leaving the door ajar.

Sam hesitated. He'd seen this thing appear out of thin air. He had absolutely no idea what would happen if he went inside. And anyway, it didn't look that big, did he really want to be trapped in an enclosed space with the Master?

The decision was taken out of his hands when The Master came back, grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him inside. He stumbled, and had to grab a railing to stop himself falling over. He looked up and stared at the room in front of him, as The Master closed the door and stalked over to the consol. He flipped a switch, but drew his hand back sharply as a spark flew out of it.

"I haven't got time for your temper tantrums." The Master snapped at the machine, circling it. "In case you hadn't noticed, your pilot's disappeared. I swear, I have no intention of running off without him." He gestured at Sam, still focusing on the large central column. "See? I brought the human along. I wouldn't do that if I had any plans about stealing you, would I?" Nothing happened, but Sam could swear the room lightened slightly. The Master slammed a lever down, and there was a clunk, as the column slowly moved up and down and a loud grating noise sounded.

"Thank you!" The Master shouted exasperatedly, then he set about fiddling with the monitor.

"This... this is just..." Sam tried to speak, but his throat was dry. "It's... it's..."

"Bigger on the inside?" The Master said, in a mock inquisitive tone. He shook his head. "Honestly, Sam, you're never going to get anywhere if you don't start taking the ludicrous seriously."

Sam shook his head, and slowly made his way towards The Master. He seemed to be over his recent bout of pyschopathic fury, but Sam could see his entire body was tense, like a gun about to go off.

"What are you going to do?" Sam, asked, trying not to set him off again.

"Look for him." He said, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. "He couldn't have gone far, certainly not outside the city, but that's still a lot of ground to cover. We can narrow down the search more if we consider that everything about this place is centred around you, so we're looking in the area you live and work, then I can narrow it down even more by having an idea about which direction to go to find him, so now we're only looking at about a few square miles. Now, what's interesting about this area here?" He pointed at the mointor, which had a map of Manchester on it, and had been magnifying while The Master had worked the controls. Now they were looking at a road map of the area Sam lived in. Suddenly a white dot appeared on the right side of the screen, in a blank square on the map.

"Ooh, now that's interesting." The Master muttered, focusing on it until it filled the screen. "The TARDIS has detected an alien presence."

"Is it The Doctor?" Sam asked.

"Maybe. If I can just..." He trailed off, working at the controls. The map disappeared and was replaced with a wave pattern, and the room was filled with a steady beep beep, like Sam heard in his head sometimes.

"What is that?"

"That." The Master said, "Is someone playing games with you and, more importantly, me." He darted away from the monitor to another part of the consol. Sam followed his energetic movements as he ran around it, pulling levers and slamming switches, which seemed to have and effect on the machine, as it jerked suddenly, making Sam grab onto it to keep his balance. The groaning became more pronouced.

"Shut up!" The Master snapped at it, which didn't seem to do anything but make it louder. However, soon enough the central column stopped moving, and the TARDIS stopped shaking. The Master ran towards the doors, opened them, and left.

* * *

Gene slammed the phone down. "That's the third one in a row that's not working. What the bloody 'ell is going on?" He stormed out of CID, Annie following him.

"And where is everyone?" He shouted down the halls, as if expecting them to suddenly appear out of nowhere.

"It's past midnight, guv. They've all gone 'ome." Gene glared at her, then stormed down the halls, shouting.

"Oh perfect! Tyler goes nuts, most of our shooters go missing, Litton's trying to get me sacked for the fifth time, and every plod, plonk, and moron with a D in their job title decides it's the perfect time to catch up on their bloody beauty sleep!"

Annie winced, and kept her head down. She still couldn't believe Sam had said those things to her. She'd seen Sam lose it before, more times than she liked, but this was completely different. He'd seemed perfectly in control when he was threatening to kill her. And what scared her was that the only reason he didn't was because that Doctor told him not to. He'd never mentioned him to her before, but clearly they knew each other, very well. Enough that Sam was willing to listen to him. Sam rarely listened to anyone, except her and the guv, and even then not all the time. And what had the Doctor called him? Master? Well, if that didn't sound ominous she didn't know what did.

It was only when Gene nudged her that she realised they had stopped. Annie listened, and she heard that grating sound she'd heard before, when the box disappeared. Gene ran down the corridor in the direction of the sound, and Annie followed him. Before long they were back at The Lost and Found. The box was back, the light on top of it flahing in time with the sound.

The door opened and Sam stepped out, smiling to himself. He stopped short, and stared at them, smile suddenly fixed. He looked around him, then back at them.

"Well. This is unexpected." He said, shoving his hands into his jacket. The door to the box opened again. Instead of the Doctor, as Annie expected, another Sam came out, identical to the first, but with a different shirt and no jacket. Like the first he stopped, and stared, but only for a few moments, before he ran towards her.

"Annie." He said, hugging her tightly. "Oh my God, Annie, I'm so sorry." Annie hugged him back, before remembering herself and stepping out of his embrace.

"Sam." She said, staring at the two of them. "What on Earth is going on?"


	9. Chapter 9

**I am so, so, so sorry. I really honestly didn't expect to leave it this long, and especially not on a cliff-hanger. But in my defense, no one ever mentioned how incredibly terrifying exams were (except the teachers, but really, who listens to them?) and my internet connection is worse than useless (which isn't my fault. At all. Really.) and there were other things grabbing my attention, which prevented developments like a logical plot, and quips worthy of Gene Hunt (I say again, I can't write him at all). So please don't crucify me, or throw things at me, or anything like that. Please?**

* * *

Before the jacket-less Sam could say anything, the other one pulled him back into the blue box. It disappeared again, then reappeared. Sam stuck his head out, looked around, then slammed the door shut. Like before, it faded out of existence and then came back. However, when Sam appeared in the doorway this time, Gene grabbed him and threw him across the room. He landed with a thud on the ground.

"You are going to explain yourself right now, Tyler, or I swear the only disappearing act you'll be doing is the one from this world into the next."

He was up on his feet again in a heartbeat, and was advancing on Gene, expression thunderous. The Guv stared him down, daring him to attack.

Before he could get close enough to do anything, jacket-less Sam was in his way, one hand stretched out, stopping him. "This is not the time to start ripping each other to shreds!" He said. He turned around and looked at Gene.

"Guv, I know you probably think this is some kind of practical joke or something, but I swear, give me a chance and I'll explain what's going on as best I can. And you," He turned back to his doppelganger, who's hands were curled into tight fists. "If you want to find out what happened to your... to the Doctor, maybe murdering the detective chief inspector isn't the best way to do it. It would just be wasting time, when anything could be happening to him." The Master was momentarily taken-aback at Sam's words, but he covered it up with a sneer, and jammed his fists back into the pockets of Sam's jacket.

"Fine, Sam Tyler. Until we find The Doctor, I'll hold off on the murderous rampage." He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall in a huff of barely concealed frustration. "At this rate I'll be lucky if I get to kill anyone at all."

Sam nodded and turned back to the guv.

"You're Sam Tyler," Gene said pointing at him, "And he's what, some long lost twin brother or something?"

"No." Sam said, rubbing his head.

"I'm a time travelling alien double of your also time travelling DI and I'm looking for my time travelling alien compatriot, who according to our time machine is right here." The Master said before Sam could find a way to phrase it better. Then he grinned widely at Gene, eyes flashing dangerously.

"Oh. Well, that explains everything." Gene deadpanned. He shook his head, and rounded on Annie. "Has Tyler ever mentioned something like this before, or is he just reached his new level of insanity today?"

Annie sighed, trying to keep calm. The Guv had enough trouble dealing with female coppers, he'd be impossible if she broke down, even if, in her opinion, she had every right to given the circumstances.

"He's always said that he just woke up here, after being hit by a car."

"You told him?" Sam asked, absolutely betrayed.

"What was I supposed to do Sam?" She snapped, "You were caught with a criminal, and you threatened me."

"I never-" Sam processed what she said, then rounded on The Master, who was leaning against the wall. "What the hell did you do to her?" He roared, grabbing onto him by the lapels of his own jacket.

"Nothing, just scared her a bit. I never intended to do real damage. Not to her at any rate." The Master replied in an almost bored tone, not even bothering to push Sam off of him.

"Oi, Tyler, what was that about not ripping each other to threads?" Gene said. Sam stayed where he was for a moment, before letting The Master go.

"Now that we've established the facts, can either of you explain where the Doctor is?" The Master asked, over Sam's shoulder.

"Not here. We haven't seen 'im since you two ran off."

"According to the TARDIS he is. This exact spot." The Master stepped away from the wall and started to pace as he launched into an explanation. "If you haven't seen him then he might be somewhere else temporally, which would mean whatever we're dealing with can time travel, which is further proved by Sammy-boy here." He clapped Sam on the shoulder to illustrate his point as he went past him, "It also seems to need to disguise itself, as it manipulated the television in your flat to copy the signal to create a physical template. Or," The Master said, coming to a stop in front of Gene, who was looking decidedly unimpressed as a new thought came to him,

"It doesn't have a physical form of it's own and needs to manipulate nearby signals. Something more than an image but less than a hologram. That would fit the bill. So, it's a formless temporal entity with at least a basic controls on it's surroundings. Brilliant."

His face, which had been in an expression of deep thought coupled with evident enjoyment, fell and curled itself into a look of disgust. "Ugh. I'm even beginning to_ talk_ like him. This is getting ridiculous."

"My sentiments exactly," Gene said, "This talk of temporal what'sits isn't getting us nowhere. What I want to know, right now, is where the bloody hell have Chris and Ray got to?"

* * *

Chris and Ray were back in their car, on their way back to the station. They hadn't said much to each other, each not believing what they'd seen and not wanting to mention it in case they were laughed at.

"Ray?" Chris finally said, deciding that he couldn't keep it to himself.

"What?"

"You know, back when we nearly hit the bo- Tyler with the car..."

"Yeah?" Ray snapped, not wanting to talk about it.

"And that other bloke grabbed him..."

"Yeah?"

"Did he... I mean... they looked a lot alike, din't they?" Ray took a long time to answer, and when he did, he dragged it out, as if reluctant to admit it.

"Yeah. they did. I mean, we didn't really see him too clearly." His voice speeded up, grasping onto an explanation.

"No we didn't." Chris agreed immediately.

"He was just wearing the bo- Tyler's jacket."

"Yeah he was. And it was pretty dark." Chris added, relieved to find an excuse for what he'd seen.

"Exactly. It must've been that Doctor." This is when Chris fell silent.

"What?" Ray asked, who'd been expecting him to agree again.

"Well... you know how you chased after them?"

"Yeah, and you followed."

"Well, I was having a bit of trouble with me seat belt-"

"What were you wearing a seat belt for?" Ray asked, surprised at him.

"The bo- Tyler wears one." Ray shook his head and gave Chris a look of contempt.

"Anyway." Chris said, trying to get out the rest of his story. "I was having trouble getting out of my seat, and I saw this man run the same way as them. He looked at the car. I saw his face in the headlights. It was the Doctor."

"So there's three of them in it?" Ray asked, feeling better. "Probably a relative of Tyler's. That's why they looked alike."

"Ray."

"What?"

"The Doctor disappeared."

"He ran off? Why didn't you chase him?"

"He didn't run off Ray. He disappeared."

"I don't understand."

"I mean, one second he was staring at me, the next there's nothing there, just empty space."

"Don't be a twat. You can't just disappear."

"But he did! I saw 'im do it."

"Then you're seeing things. Let's just get back to the station and tell the Guv we've lost 'em."

* * *

The Doctor slammed into a wall, unable to stop; barely realising he had been transported. It took a moment for him to register the side effects. There was slight ringing in his ears, a green afterimage of the alley in his eyes, and a hint of fizzy lemon in the air. He rubbed his eyes, stepped away and into the centre of the room, to get a better look of where he had been taken, ignoring the slight ache from his ribs, which didn't like sudden brick walls.

He was in the Lost And Found. He was a little surprised at this, but didn't question it. He headed for the door, but found it was locked. He pulled out the sonic, but the door still refused to budge.

When he turned back to the room, a little girl was sitting cross-legged on the table, in a red dress, holding a rather large clown doll. She was looking at him, expression calm and neutral.

"Hello." The Doctor said, unsure what to do. "You must be The Test Card Girl."

"You do realise you've ruined everything?" The Doctor blinked at her.

"Have I? Sorry about that. I don't suppose you'd tell me how I've ruined everything?" She bit her lip and tilted her head, as if considering it.

"I'll tell you if you answer my question." The Doctor raised his eyebrows.

"You want to interrogate me?"

"I want to ask you a question." She looked up at him, nothing even faintly malicious in her eyes. She looked for all the world like a normal child.

After considering his options, of which there were none, he nodded. She smiled, and sat down cross legged on the floor, clown in her lap. Gingerly, the Doctor sat down as well, facing her.

"What's the question?" The Doctor asked, deciding to play along for now. He sill wasn't entirely sure who or what she was, and if there was a chance of finding some more information, the Doctor was happy to try anything.

"Why does your Master look like Sam?" She asked, straightening the hem of her dress.

"I don't know." The Doctor told her. "Coincidence? They say everyone's got a twin. I'm a pretty good likeness for Casanova, if I say so myself. It's all very well saying there are an infinite number of different genetic variations in the human genome, but there are millions upon billions of humans. It's not that much of a stretch to say that one of them can mirror the physical characteristics of another humanoid. It's a bit more of a stretch to say that their paths could cross, especially when you factor in the temporal displacement of both of them, but, hey, it's a big universe."

The girl nodded, as if expecting this sort of response. The Doctor paused, waiting for her to ask what he was talking about, or at least to say something. After a moment he broke the silence.

"Who are you? What do you want with Sam Tyler?" The girl looked up at him, still calm and collected.

"I can get inside Sam's head, see all the thoughts and emotions he goes through here. When Your Master assumed Sam's identity, he took Sam's place, meaning I could see inside his head." She wrinkled her nose slightly. "I prefer Sam's. Your Master's head is very messy, and it's falling apart. Probably because of those drums, or whatever they really are."

"The drums?" She nodded.

"How can you hear the drums?" The Doctor asked, confused. The drums were a manifestation of The Master's madness, and therefore inaudible to anyone but him. They weren't real.

"If it's in his head, I can see it. I don't know what they are, because he doesn't know what they are. But!" She yelled suddenly, making the Doctor jump.

"That isn't important. You want to get back to your Master, and I want your Master gone. I let you find him, and you'll leave. Okay?"

"What about Sam? There must be a reason he's 33 years out of his comfort zone. What's he here for?"

"He's needed here."

"What for?" The girl's forehead creased, not understanding the question.

"He's a policeman. What are policemen ever needed for?"

"There are policemen here. Or, maybe you need alien police- I could signal a passing Judoon ship if you want." The Doctor ran a hand through his hair. She was right, he did want to get back to The Master, but he had to help Sam if he could, and he couldn't do that until he knew exactly what he was dealing with.

"No." The girl shook her head violently. "It has to be Sam."

"Why?" The Doctor asked, exasperated. But she didn't say anything else, just sat and stared at him. The Doctor was beginning to feel annoyed. "Look, I'm all for The Master and I leaving, God knows what kind of trouble he's causing without me, but I can't just leave Sam. He doesn't belong here. He wants to go home." He emphasised his last sentence, trying to appeal to the little girl's sympathy, but she just hugged her clown closer to herself and quietly watched him, waiting.


End file.
